COP17 (Durban)

COP17 (Durban)
Title	COP17 (Durban)
Date	28 November – 11 December 2011
Location	Durban, KwaZulu‑Natal, South Africa
Venue	Durban International Conference Centre
Participants	Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Significance	Launch of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action; decisions on Kyoto Protocol, Green Climate Fund, technology transfer

COP17 (Durban)

COP17 (Durban) was the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held at the Durban International Convention Centre in Durban and KwaZulu‑Natal from 28 November to 11 December 2011. The conference produced the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action and agreements addressing the Kyoto Protocol, financing through the Green Climate Fund, and arrangements for technology transfer. Delegates from nearly all Parties, along with United Nations bodies, international organizations, and civil society, negotiated a complex package with both political and legal ramifications.

Background and Objectives

The conference followed prior sessions including COP3 (Kyoto) and COP15 (Copenhagen), and builds on processes established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Cancun Agreements adopted at COP16 (Cancún). Major objectives included resolving the Kyoto Protocol's second commitment period, operationalizing the Green Climate Fund agreed at COP16 (Cancún), advancing the Technology Mechanism involving the Climate Technology Centre and Network, and defining a pathway toward a legally binding or universally applicable instrument under the UNFCCC. Key actors included the European Union, the United States, China, India, the African Group, the Alliance of Small Island States, and the Least Developed Countries Group.

Negotiations and Key Outcomes

Negotiations centered on a package negotiated through ministerial consultations led by the South African Presidency and facilitated by the UNFCCC Secretariat under Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. Outcomes included the establishment of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, an agreement to set up a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol with a timetable for amendments, and a roadmap for the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund with the World Bank and Multilateral Development Banks engaged in trustee discussions. The conference advanced the Adaptation Framework through the Adaptation Committee and decisions on the Loss and Damage mechanism as pursued by the Vulnerable Twenty Group and Alliance of Small Island States. Negotiated texts involved inputs from negotiating groups such as the Umbrella Group, the Like‑Minded Developing Countries, and the Environmental Integrity Group.

The Durban Platform and Legal Implications

The Durban Platform for Enhanced Action launched a process to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force, to be completed by 2015 and implemented from 2020. The Platform sought to bridge the divide between parties supporting binding commitments under the Kyoto Protocol—notably the European Union and several Annex I Parties—and those preferring a broader, possibly non‑binding architecture led by China and the United States. Legal debates addressed differentiation derived from the Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities principle, amendment procedures under Article 3 of the Kyoto Protocol, ratification pathways, and the interplay with instruments such as the Paris Agreement which would later emerge. The Platform’s open phrasing left room for multi‑track legal outcomes, affecting international environmental law scholarship and precedent established by instruments like the Montreal Protocol.

Participation and Stakeholder Positions

Representation included ministers and negotiators from nearly 196 Parties, with prominent delegations from the European Commission, United States Department of State representatives, and ministerial teams from Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and Russia. Observers included the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, World Meteorological Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, multinational corporations, trade associations, labor unions, and a wide spectrum of non‑governmental organizations such as Greenpeace, WWF, and Friends of the Earth. Positions diverged: the European Union pushed for an ambitious legal outcome and stricter emissions targets; the United States emphasized a long‑term outcome that could engage all major emitters; China and the Like‑Minded Developing Countries stressed differentiated responsibilities and finance; African delegations highlighted needs articulated by the African Ministerial Conference on Environment.

Implementation, Follow-up and Impact

Post‑Durban, Parties engaged in technical workstreams under the ADP (Ad hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action), the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund Board, and the legal and procedural steps toward a second Kyoto Protocol commitment period as reflected in the CMP (Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol). Financial pledges and capitalization efforts involved institutions like the International Monetary Fund and regional development banks. The Durban outcomes shaped subsequent negotiations culminating in the Paris Agreement at COP21 (Paris), influenced national climate policies including European Union Emission Trading Scheme revisions, and affected investment flows into renewable energy and climate adaptation projects in regions such as Sub‑Saharan Africa.

Controversies and Criticisms

Critics argued the Durban package deferred difficult decisions and produced ambiguous legal commitments, provoking responses from advocacy groups including 350.org and the Sierra Club. Debates scrutinized the role of the World Bank as interim trustee for the Green Climate Fund, raising concerns voiced by the African Group and civil society over conditionalities and governance. The exclusion of certain Annex I Parties from continuing Kyoto commitments, and the timeline extending action to 2020, prompted criticism from the Alliance of Small Island States and Least Developed Countries Group for insufficient urgency. Analysts from think tanks such as the International Institute for Environment and Development and academic commentators in journals like Nature (journal) highlighted challenges in equity, transparency, and the enforceability of emission reduction commitments.

Category:United Nations climate change conferences